Scindia refutes unavailability claim of PM Modi ; says new terminal at Pune airport to be inaugurated in 2-3 weeks

During a visit to the Pune Airport on Friday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced that the new terminal building will open in two or three weeks.

During an inspection of the new terminal building, which is being constructed at a cost of Rs 423 crore by the Airports Authority of India, Scindia mentioned that some finishing touches need to be given and work should be completed soon. 

According to the Union Minister, he has also made some recommendations for fixing some of the errors he found during his inspection.

He denied any knowledge of the claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s absence was causing the new terminal building’s inauguration to be delayed.

Scindia said that his responsibility was to complete the project which has happened now. Inauguration plans will be discussed and decided by the chief minister and deputy chief ministers, he stated, adding that it will happen in two or three weeks.

As per the AAI, the airport will undergo safety testing following the inauguration, which should take up to ninety days, before it is operational. Compared to the current building’s capacity of 7.2 million passengers annually, it will be able to handle 12 million passengers annually.